Madigan says 'no' to Illinois run

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan won’t challenge incumbent Gov. Pat Quinn, she announced in a statement Monday evening — removing one of Democrats’ top female gubernatorial prospects and helping clear the way for a bruising primary between Quinn and former White House chief of staff Bill Daley.

Madigan said her decision to run for reelection as attorney general, rather than seek the governor’s mansion, is due in large part to the fact that her father, Michael Madigan, is still speaker of the Illinois state House.

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“I feel strongly that the state would not be well served by having a governor and speaker of the House from the same family and have never planned to run for governor if that would be the case,” she said. “With Speaker Madigan planning to continue in office, I will not run for governor.”

Madigan had been seen as the likely Democratic front-runner had she chosen to run. She said in her statement that she did consider the race seriously.

“I considered running for governor because of the need for effective management from that office and the frustration so many of us feel about the current lack of progress on critical issues facing Illinois,” Madigan said in a statement. “Ultimately, however, there has always been another consideration that impacts my decision.”

Madigan’s decision not to run is a boon to Daley, who announced his challenge to Quinn last month. He’ll now likely have a one-on-one matchup with Quinn, in a race Democrats in the state expect to be competitive and potentially ugly.

Daley’s deep connections in Illinois and famous last name will help him raise money against the unpopular Quinn: Daley’s father and brother both served as mayor of Chicago for more than 20 years. He’s also hired a handful of Obama campaign alums, including AKDP, David Axelrod’s media firm, and the Strategy Group, a direct-mail firm, to work on his campaign.

The Republican field in the race is crowded: businessman Bruce Rauner, state Treasurer Dan Rutherford and state Sens. Bill Brady and Kirk Dillard have all announced bids in the GOP primary.